Review of 21 Grams (2003) by Ash M — 16 Oct 2016

Melodramatic; disappointing considering how great Amores Perros was (Iñárritu directing also). Unrealistic story line with bipolar characters lashing out on each other.

Character depth is muted by constant over-dramatized explosions that steadily pervade this film for nearly 3 hours. In Amores Perros, there was more realism to the various circumstances and the way that the three stories merged together. In 21 Grams, the individual circumstances do not come together as seamlessly as Inarritu's past films. Ridiculous caricature of illness, religious conversion, and family loss. Embarrassingly over-the-top; expected more from Iñárritu. Unrealistic plot line with no variation - just over-blasted volume in the form of shaking, screaming, crying actors in every scene; and I like all three actors (Penn, Watts, and del Toro). But for a three hour tale, the immersion of the three and the extremity in which their characters must play out is just too much high-pitched soprano.